Wire-stretcher



J. H. GLLIS. WIRE STBETGHEB.

Patented Oct. 17, 1893.

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. GILLIS, OF COESFIELD, TEXAS.

WIRE-'STRETCHER SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 506,995, dated October 17, 1893.

Appumion fue@ March 6, 139s. sem-.1110. 464.719. (No model.)

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. GILLIS, of Coeseld, in the county ofv Cooke and State of Texas, have invented a new and Improved Wire-Stretcher, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. i

My invention relates to improvements in that class of wire stretchers which are adapted for use in stretching fence wires.

The object of my invention is to produce a simple, strong, and cheap wire stretcher which may be quickly placed in position against a post and secured to -a wire, which may be made to connect with wires of dissimilar heights, and by which a wire may be stretched to any necessary tension.

To this end my invention consists in a wire-stretcher, the construction of which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings,`forming a part of this specification,

in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the wire stretcher as applied to a post and wire. Fig. 2 is a plan view ot' the same. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view, showing the construction of the windlass frame; and Fig.'4 is an enlarged detail perspective view of the hook carried by the windlass cable and adapted to connect with the wire.

The stretcher is provided with a beam 10 which constitutes the body of the device, and this, at one end, has pivoted a clutch 11 consisting of a curved plate having at its ends laterally extending arms 12, which taper to.- ward their outer ends and have serrated edges 13 to bear upon the post. The clutch plate 11 is held to the beam 10 by a bolt 14, and the bolt extends through wear plates 16 on opposite sides of the beam, these being held in place by a bolt 15. The end of the beam opposite the clutch plate 11 is recessed, as shown at 17 in Fig. 2, to provide for the tilting of the clutch plate. On the outer side of the clutch plate 11, near its upper and lower ends, are rollers 18 over which may run the wire to be stretched. Near the upper end of the beam 10 is pivoted a swinging frame 20 which has side plates 21 arranged to straddle the beam, and these are pivoted to the beam on a detachable bolt 22, the bolt being arranged in this way so that if desired vthe framemay be removed and turned around.

The frame 20 has its side pieces connected by a central curved web 23 which is held in place by rivets or bolts 24 and 25, and which strengthens the frame and also serves as a stop to limit its swing. In the outer end of the frame is journaled a windlass, comprising a roller 25a and crank 26a, and the roller has at one end a ratchet wheel 27 adapted to be engaged by a pawl 28 pivoted on one of the side pieces of the frame, and the pawl prevents the ratchet wheel and roller from turning in the wrong direction.

The beam 10, at a point opposite the swinging windlass frame, is preferably thickened, as shown at 10a, and the windlass frame is adapted to contact with the thickened portion of the beam. The windlass carries a rope or cable 29 which extends downward along the beam and over a pulley 30, which is journaled in a bracket 3l opposite a recess 32 in the beam, and the free end of the cable is provided with a' hook 33 which is shown in detail in Fig. 4, and is intended to connect with the wire 34 to be stretched. The hook 33 has a loop 35 to which the rope or cable 29 is attached, and at ,one end of it is a hook 36, bent at an acute angle, to connect with the Wire 34, and the other end of the hook is bent outward, as shown at 37. The cable may be secured to the windlass in any convenient way,but a preferable way of attaching it is to have the roller 25a provided with a transverse hole and to secure the end of the rope or cable in this hole.

When the machine is to be used, the clutch plate 11 is placed against a post 38 with the arms 12 in engagement with the post, and the lower end of the beam 10 is fastened to the ground by a pin 39 which is driven through a hole in the lower end of the beam. This Vprevents the beam from shifting its position. The beam is arranged on the side opposite that on which the body of the wire 34 is located, and preferably with the Windlass on top. The cable 29 is extended over the pulleys 30 and back toward the post 38, the hook 33 is secured to the Wire 34, and the operator then turns the crank 26a, Which winds up the cable 29, and pulls upon the IOO wire 34, thus stretching the wire tightly.

When the stretching is to `be reversed, that is, used on `the otherside of the post, the bolt 22 is detached, the frame 20 removed, the rope 29 disengaged from the pulley 30, the beam turned over so as to make the arms 12 point in the opposite direction, the frame again attached on the top of the beam, and the rope 29 again placed on the pulley 30. The stretcher may then be placed against a post and used as described.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure .-by Letters Pat-l ent- 1. A wire stretcher, comprising a beam, a clutch plate pivoted at one end of the beam and provided with laterally extending arms to engage a post, a swinging windlass pivoted on the beam, and a cable carried bythe windlass and provided with a wire-engaging hook at its free end, substantially as described.

2. A wire stretcher, comprising a beam, a' clutch plate pivoted at one end of the beam,` and havin-g laterallyextendin g serrated arms to engage a post, a swinging windlass pivoted on the beam, and a rope carried by the windlass and provided with a wire-engaging hook, substantiallyas described.

3. A wire stretcher, comprising a beam, a

detachable swinging frame carried by the beam, a windlass on the swinging frame, a cable carried by the windlass and having a wire-engaging hook thereon, and a guide pulley pivoted on the side of 'the beam, substantially as described 5. The combination, of the beam/the wind lass thereon, the guide pulley pivoted on the side of the beam,and the clutch plate pivoted yat one end of the beam, the clutch plate having laterally extending arms on one side and also rollers thereon, substantially as described.

JOHN H. GILLIS. Witnesses:

C. H. KIRBY, EH. YC. FORD. 

